Scars
by HuntingStarlight
Summary: AU. It's been five years since both Percy and Annabeth have seen each other, and everything has changed. She's afraid to love, and he's cold and unsocial. With Kronos in the picture, and closing in on Percy fast, everything changes, and like it or not, old scars will open, and new ones will form. SEQUEL TO BRUISES.
1. Chapter 1

**Scars**

**HuntingStarlight**

**-Chapter 1-**

**For When I See You Again**

* * *

(Old wounds are bound to reopen one day, and when they reopen, it's all you can do not to cry, because they hurt, and most likely, they'll always hurt.)

Annabeth wasn't sure what she was doing anymore. As of that very moment in time, she found herself staring into the seawater, for the fourth time that month.

Kind of unhealthy…

She had found that she had developed that habit after _**he**_ left, five years ago, and she realized that the shade of blue-green that the sea possessed was just **so **similar to his own.

It was four o'clock in the morning, and Annabeth half expected to find Percy running up the side of the beach, waving madly at her, calling her name.

(In high school, she had spent a lot of time at the beach, and often ended up bumping into the raven, as he jogged alongside it.)

But of course, he wasn't really there-and it wasn't like _she cared or anything…_

Yeah, Annabeth knew that she wasn't really convincing anybody-and that included her.

Sighing heavily, the blonde drew herself up slowly, brushing stray grains of sand off of the bottoms of her running shorts. Turning away from the rushing waters, and the lapping waves, Annabeth jogged back to the college campus-UC*Berkley. Percy could wait another day…if he was ever coming back from wherever he was.

Damn it.

* * *

Percy sat on the ledge of the building, blowing stray strands of jet-black hair away from his eyes. The mission from last night had left him utterly exhausted. The infiltration of Kronos' base hadn't gone that well…it had turned out to be a red herring, a false lead, whatever the hell you wanted to call it. The rooftop had automatically become a place of refuge for the billionaire's son after he had left New York City. It had been where he and Annabeth had met many times during middle school. 'Course, they hadn't met on the very building where he was sitting, but that building was all the way in New York. Swinging his legs back onto the concrete of the roof, Percy began to walk back into the building, loping in a semi-graceful way down the stairs. He had classes to attend. The University of California-San Diego, was his choice in college, because a, it was closer to the base, and b, they offered classes in marine biology, along with the business classes that he took due to his major.

On his way down, he bumped into Nico DiAngelo, one of the sons of the Big Three. The Big Three weren't siblings despite popular belief-they grew up together though, and acted like siblings. Nico was the son of Hades DiAngelo, the oldest of the trio, and he was attending the University of Los Angeles.

"You getting ready for a class?" Nico gestured to the unbuttoned polo the older boy wore, and the pair of Nike's slung around his neck by the shoelaces.

"Ah. Yeah. 'Cept we're doing an…erm…what do you call it? A…um…no…not a merger, that's a business term…a mixer?" Nico gave Percy a strange look, as if to say, _c'mon dude, seriously?_

"Do you mean a combined class? Which class are you doing it with?" Percy brushed another strand away from his face and replied,

"Stocks and Exchanges. We're combining with two campus's, Berkley and…uh…Los Angeles, I think." Nico looked at him with the same look again, and deadpanned,

"You sure it isn't CIT?" Rolling his eyes, Percy groaned,

"Yeah, I'm sure that I know at least that much, OK?" Brushing past the Italian, Percy made his way down the rest of the stairs, the sneakers swinging from their perch 'round his neck. Nico heard a door slam behind him, and he knew that Percy had gone back into his room, and rubbed his temples. Sometimes, Percy was a tad too hard to understand.

* * *

Piper strode down the worn path that led to San Diego's lecture hall. Her binders beat on her thigh, as she watched the other students from Berkley pour into the gates. As she stared at the patches of lilac flowers strewn along the edges of the path, a flash of black hair, like a raven's wing, accompanied by a splash of sea-green caught her eye, and Piper's gaze shot up.

Only two people in the world had a combination of features like that, and one of them was six feet under in a graveyard in New York City. (So Piper assumed. She had no idea what they did for his funeral.) And the other had been missing for five years. So, unless the dead had started walking, which happened to be very, very unlikely, the only person it could be was none other than Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon Jackson.

So, this was where he was, attending the University of California, San Diego.

As usual, he didn't command that much attention, as usual blending into the crowd, nearly invisible. The only reason, Piper supposed, that she even saw him, was his bright, lively green eyes. His form was hunched over slightly, and Piper could see that in his hand was a small novel, and she couldn't exactly read the title. Percy was wearing a white collar-less polo, a blue jacket that ending by his jean's pockets, and a worn-down pair of Nikes. The collar of his jacket was folded over, showing the black outlining that trailed from his collar, and down the sleeves. His hair was as messy as usual, and Piper wanted to scream across the campus, _Hey, Jackson, where've you been the past five years, huh? _But, she refrained. If anything, Annabeth deserved to be the first out of the group to speak to him, and Piper wasn't about to take that chance away from her. If there was one thing Piper knew she was at least decent at, it was being a good friend. Piper let herself being swept up with the pushing on crowd of college students, and felt herself being taken inside the lecture hall.

_Oh, man, if only Annabeth knew just how close Percy actually was… _

Well, Piper would just have to fix it, yeah?

* * *

**Ohayo minna-san! Ren is back, baby! Yeah, welcome to Scars, and I am PUMPED! **

**WOOT! **

**'Cause, guess who has a new policy? THIS PERSON. 1,000 words or more each chapter. That may mean slower updates-plus, Ren has got to study for the ffing finals-but, more story! **

**You like more story, right?**

**Pfft, yeah, I hope so. Well, see ya'lls soon!**

**Sayonara minna!**

** -Ren, AKA HuntingStarlight**


	2. Chapter 2

**Scars**

**~Chapter Two~**

**Sometimes, Knowledge can be a Sin.**

**(AKA: Ren as no idea wtf to name this chapter.) **

* * *

**_(Some things, I really just don't want to know. For instance, if you kissed my older brother or not-keep it to yourself, OK?)_**

Percy knew he could see Piper in the back row of the lecture hall, typing something into her IPhone while the class waited for the teacher to arrive. For some insane reason, Mr. Hatake was always late.

If Piper was here-did that mean Annabeth was too? Inwardly slapping himself at the thought, Percy thought,

_'you left her for her own good. If you're there, she's just going to get hurt._'

Wincing as the facts came back, Percy decided that it would be better to focus his attention on the now entering Mr. Hatake.

Oh boy…headache at four o'clock…Percy could just see it now.

* * *

Percy was glad that class was over. Seriously, he was.

As he strode out of the hall and into the lawn, he heard somebody screaming his name.

Right, Piper was there.

Said girl ran up beside him, and pulled on his shirtsleeve, (she was surprisingly strong) huffing and puffing all the while.

"Hey, Jackson, where have you been all these years? Huh bastard?"

Percy had assumed a blasé expression, and replied, "I'm sorry…I don't really know who you are so…"

He trailed off, as the grip on his sleeve slackened, and he strode away, leaving an open-mouthed Piper behind.

_'I'm sorry Piper. But it's for her good-and yours.'_

* * *

"YOU DID WHAT?"

Piper winced, inching away from the hurricane of blonde rage that loomed above her.

"I saw Percy today, when we had that merger with San Diego. But…he said he had no idea who I was. I-I'm actually pretty sure that he was lying though." Piper watched as Annabeth's face slackened, and she fell back into the dorm bed.

"But…Piper, why would he lie?" She shrugged, scooting over towards Annabeth.

"I dunno Annabeth. I really don't know."

* * *

Percy was exhausted the next day, and it showed. He stumbled down the steps, and bumped into Nico.

"Hey…are you OK?" Nico's hand shot out, gripping Percy's shoulder, as the raven began to fall forwards, pulling him upright. "Percy…" Tired green eyes, glazed over like sea glass stared up at him, crinkling up in a fake smile.

"Yeah, you don't need to worry about me, Nico. Just focus on yourself-I'm perfectly fine." Black eyes narrowed in suspicion, and Nico dragged Percy down the last few steps, and into the empty music room.

"You don't seem fine Percy. What the hell is going on?" Concern washed over Nico, like a tidal wave, bringing in an unfamiliar feeling-a fuzzy feeling, sharp in his stomach, like nervous butterflies-or pterodactyls, were flying around in his lower abdomen.

"I-I'm just…really…really…tired." Percy slumped against the wall of the music room, staring at the covered grand piano that occupied it. His eyelids fluttered, almost as if they were deciding whether or not to stay open, or just slide shut. It was then that Nico could see that bags underneath Percy's eyes, colored deep purples and black. It was a surprise that nobody had noticed them earlier.

Nico wasn't that surprised that they were there. Percy was at the top of his class, and in order to get there, he had to work extremely hard for it. It certainly didn't help that Percy was dyslexic, and yet he had plowed through all of those papers, leaflets, and homework. It had to have resulted in a dozen or more late-nights. But from the looks of it, Percy was either running on determination alone, or a heck of a lot of caffeine. Nico was surprised that he could still stand.

"I'm really glad that I haven't got any classes today…I don't think I can stand up…" Percy began to laugh, and it was an infectious laugh-the kind that can make just about anybody laugh-including one Nico Di Angelo. Nico joined in, and he slid down against the wall, breathing hard. Percy smiled at him again, and this time, Nico knew it was real.

"I think, that's the first time I ever heard you laugh!" Nico shot him a glare, though he knew-and probably Percy knew as well, there was no heat to it. He couldn't bring himself to glare at Percy anymore-something always held him back.

"Well, don't count on it happening again." He grumbled, crossing his arms over himself, pouting in a semblance to a child. Percy laughed again, strands of messy coal-black hair falling into his eyes.

"Sure thing Nico, sure thing. C'mon Di Angelo, I do have some urge to get to breakfast." Hoisting himself up, Nico watched as Percy walked out the door, occasionally stumbling into a person, and waving a cheerful hello.

Because, that was just the kind of person Perseus Aidan Jackson was.

* * *

The cool glass startled Annabeth awake.

She was on a bus, to the museum, so she could take a look at the new exhibit that had just opened up, the one that featured Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural genius. It had been two days since Piper had told her about Percy's attendance at San Diego University, and Annabeth realized that the new exhibit would probably be an ideal way to get him out of her damn head.

"If you're getting off at the art museum, this is your stop." A man in a hoodie leaned over from the seat across from hers, his face covered, and his voice emotionless.

Annabeth blanched at the sight, slightly surprised, as she nodded, and rose from her seat, and noticed that the man was also getting up.

"Are you following me?" The man froze outside of the bus, as it began to drive away, and he laughed, sheepishly scratching the back of his hoodie.

"No, sorry, I just thought that I'd tell you…you seemed half asleep. But, on the same topic, what are you going to the museum to look at? I'm going to see the new Wright exhibit." Annabeth smiled, hiking her bag further up her arm.

"Well, same here. Maybe I'll see you there?" The man smiled, and slipped her a piece of paper.

"Maybe, maybe not. See you!" He strode into the museum, melding almost perfectly into the surging crowd. Annabeth watched him go, then unfolded the slip of paper.

_'(xxx) xxx-xxx. Call me sometime, OK?'_

Annabeth smiled at the message, then refolded the paper, slipping it into her tote. She'd probably call him later-she had the time.

* * *

**Ohayo minna-san! Ren-chan is back in black! **

**OK...that failed. Just ignore my lame personality for now...**

**OH HOLY ZEUS. Yatta! Ten reviews, 13 favorites, and 20 follows for one chapter? Minna...ashiteru! (Means: I love you guys.) **

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**I have posted a new story called A Little Dose of Reality-please, check it out!**

**Until next time! **

**Sayonara!**

** -Ren, AKA HuntingStarlight**


	3. Chapter 3

**Scars**

**~3~**

**So...we meet again.**

* * *

(He's the boy next door, he's your best friend, but most of all, he's the boy you fell in love with-the person on the other side of that glass wall~)

Annabeth had fallen into the cycle of talking to her mystery person.

She knew all these tiny details about him, but it never really added up to the real thing.

She had learned that his sweatshirt was from the popular Japanese show, Shinkgeki no Kyojin.

He was her age, and he went to college not that far away.

His favorite kind of drink was a peppermint latte.

His favorite band was Simple Plan or Three Days Grace-he was torn between them.

She had told him a lot about herself as well.

He knew that she absolutely hated tea-no matter how out of character that sounded for her-she preferred a chocolate mocha latte.

(It was complicated, and she liked it like that.)

She still couldn't ride a bike, no matter how hard she had tried, and she wanted to be an architect.

So that day, she had asked him,  
"Could...I meet you?"  
Annabeth could have sworn that he practically died right then and there.  
The line was silent, and he was jabbering in another language (italian?) to himself, and Annabeth sighed.  
"S-sure?" His voice sounded weak, and his reply sounded more like a question. "Where do you want to meet?"  
Annabeth smiled. "How about Cafe Lune? The one near-"  
"The library downtown San Fran? Sure, I was planning on heading down there anyways for the weekend. How does Saturday at 12 sound?"  
"Good to me. Bye!" Annabeth hung up, smiling wider than she had when she was dating Percy himself.

Good Athena, she had fallen in love with a man she barely knew...

Yet she felt like she had known him her entire life.

* * *

Annabeth sat in her favorite table in the corner of the quaint cafe, sipping her steaming drink.

(maybe it was too hot to be drinking steamy coffee, but she didn't give a rat's ass.)

The bell rang, and Annabeth found herself staring at the back of a green, Survey Corps, Shinkgeki no Kyojin hoodie, with the hood pulled up around his head, as he got on line.

Five minutes, he came to her table, his smile with pearly white teeth shining from underneath his hoodie. Annabeth couldn't see his eyes though-they were blocked by aviator sunglasses, and for some weird reason, Annabeth found herself slightly upset about that.

"Would you take off your sunglasses? And your hood? I really want to see what you look like."  
He choked on his coffee, coughing and hacking, as Annabeth patted his back, and he nodded feebly.

Setting his coffee down gingerly, he pulled back his hood, to reveal dark olive skin, and a rugged jaw, framed by unruly raven locks of hair, cropped just above his shoulders, so that it slightly brushed his chin.

A sense of foreboding came over Annabeth, but she brushed it off as just nerves.

His hand wavered by the aviators, until he pulled them off, revealing luminous sea-green eyes, sad and melancholy, shifting like the waves that crashed onto San Fransisco Bay.

Sitting in front of her, his shoulders hunched, and his head down, as if he was expecting her to hit him, was none other than Percy Jackson.

"I-I understand that..." Annabeth cut him off, her voice furious.

"PERSEUS AIDAN JACKSON! Where have you BEEN the past FIVE YEARS?"

He winced, flinching back, as the entire coffee shop stared at the duo.

"Around the world...?"

Annabeth didn't whether to punch him, or hug the living crap out of him.

She chose the latter.

"God you stupid Seaweed Brain, I missed you. Don't do that again, OK?" Then she slapped him across the face, and he just sat there, shocked.

Then he began to laugh, clutching his painfully red cheek, and said,  
"I probably deserved that, and much more, didn't I?"

Annabeth nodded.

"But I did come back didn't I?"

Annabeth couldn't say anything anymore.

There were just no words.

* * *

**Hi! **

**Sorry, I'm re-uploading, and I am sorry it's kind of short.**

**Tests are killing me...**

**I'll be updating more now, so rest assured.**

**Check out some of my other stories while your at it then!**

**Thanks to all of you who reviewed, favorited, and followed! **

**Sayonara!**

**~Ren**


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